Automated Analog Design Constraint Checking


By Hossam Sarhan and Alexandre Arriordaz Overview Analog integrated circuits (ICs) are used to control and regulate conditions such as temperature, speed, sound, and electrical current. In analog ICs, voltage and current vary continuously at specified points in the circuit. One of the biggest challenges in analog integrated circuit (IC) design is to achieve and maintain accurate ratios: cap... » read more

Adapting Mobile To A Post-Moore’s Law Era


The slowdown in Moore's Law is having a big impact on chips designed for the mobile market, where battery-powered devices need to still improve performance with lower power. This hasn't slowed down performance or power improvements, but it has forced chipmakers and systems companies to approach designs differently. And while feature shrinks will continue for the foreseeable future, they are ... » read more

Why Analog Designs Fail


The gap between analog and digital reliability is growing, and digital designs appear to be winning. Reports show that analog content causes the most test failures and contributes significantly more than digital to field returns. The causes aren't always obvious, though. Some of it is due to the maturity of analog design and verification. While great strides have been made in digital circuit... » read more

Low Power Apps: Shaping The Future Of Low Power Verification


This paper describes how verification and design engineers can make use of UPF 3.0 information model-based HDL and Tcl APIs to write useful low-power apps. We present low-power apps that can be used to solve complex verification issues and provide case studies and examples to demonstrate usage. To read more, click here. » read more

Blockchain May Be Overkill for Most IIoT Security


Blockchain crops up in many of the pitches for security software aimed at the industrial IoT. However, IIoT project owners, chipmakers and OEMs should stick with security options that address the low-level, device- and data-centered security of the IIoT itself, rather than the effort to promote blockchain as a security option as well as an audit tool. Only about 6% of Industrial IoT (IIoT) p... » read more

Blog Review: Feb. 13


UltraSoc’s Rupert Baines notes that awareness is rapidly increasing for the value of embedded insights and system data. Cadence’s Paul McLellan reviews the highlights of the upcoming SPIE conference in San Jose. Synopsys’ Taylor Armerding discusses the key findings of a report on cybersecurity practices for the automotive industry, including what components of vehicles pose the hi... » read more

Mapping The Impact Of Heat On Photonics


Heat and various types of noise can disrupt optical signals in silicon photonics applications, pushing light into frequencies that generally are filtered out. Unless those filters are adjusted, data may be lost or incomplete, and in the case of streaming data it may be impossible to reconstruct. But predicting when and how physical effects will affect light isn't always obvious, which makes ... » read more

Collaborative IC Design Mandates Integrated Data Management


Over the last decade, design teams have encountered increased competition due to globalization (requiring the best available engineers irrespective of location), an exponential increase in design complexity, and shrinking market windows. This results in teams of engineers with different skill sets (for example analog, digital, MEMS, and RF), spread across multiple sites, managing complex flows,... » read more

MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress Focuses on Automotive, Emerging MEMS


This year’s MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress (MSTC), February 19-20, 2019, features a deep dive into the changing automotive sensor landscape, a look at emerging MEMS technologies, and an exploration of integration standards. The more technically focused of SEMI’s annual MEMS events, MSTC returns to Monterey, California, in conjunction with FLEX, the conference that highlights new form... » read more

VCSEL Technology Takes Off


By Kevin Fogarty and Ed Sperling Vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) technology, a proven but mostly niche technology until recently, is suddenly a very hot commodity thanks to the introduction of facial recognition in phones and other mobile devices. VCELS primarily have been used as a low-cost way of tracking movement and transfering data in computer mice, laser printers and ... » read more

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